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It’s a common mistake many people make. After working with many clients for over 12 years, I’ve decided this is the biggest mistake you can make when clearing clutter out of your home.
“What is this big mistake?”, you ask.
The biggest mistake is assuming you know what you own. I can’t count the times I have worked with a client to declutter their home and they say “we don’t need to go through that box – I know what’s in it and it is fine”.
In my early years of helping clients, I would go along with it. But with experience, I came to the realization that they didn’t really know what was in that box. They only thought they knew what was in that box. Even that labeled box.
I would say about 90% of the time that box contained at least one item they had forgotten about. The box might have been labeled “sweaters” but sometimes it also contained (and I’m not making this up) money/gift cards, jewelry, trash, keys, important documents, bugs, food, water damage, or mildew. Sometimes the “sweater” box did not contain sweaters at all! And if it did, they were usually sweaters the homeowner did not want to keep anymore.
Sometimes it wasn’t what was in the box, it was what was behind the box on the shelf. It’s important to check everywhere or the job just isn’t complete.
So now, when I help someone purge and organize their home, I insist that we open every box, every container, every drawer, and every cabinet we encounter.
“Why should I care?”, you ask.
The reward for touching every single thing you own is that you now know what you have and where it is. Lost items and treasures will have been found. Unneeded items can be gotten rid of to make more space, bugs and water or mildew damage can be taken care of, and items can be stored where you can use them and find them. I feel it is also important to replace cardboard boxes with plastic bins. Cardboard attracts bugs and mildew – not good.
If you are buying new bins, be sure to buy ones that you can handle easily. It is best to buy several small/medium bins instead of larger ones because they can get pretty heavy when packed full. I only use oversized bins for lightweight items like pillows and comforters. The Rubbermaid 18 gallon size is perfect for storage in your garage, attic, or basement. For added organizing, purchase different colors for different types of storage. Ex: Red for Christmas decor, Green for Spring decor, White for linens. For closet shelves, I like these. Be sure to get bins with lids because dust collects in closets too. For under-the-bed-storage, I like these rolling bins.
Another thing to remember is to label every bin and it is good to label it on all four sides and also the top. You might think you will remember what is in each bin, but unless you have a bionic brain, you probably won’t. Here’s a label maker I love. You can also get creative with paper tags. I have even used luggage tags before when a client had a ton of extras. They are big and easy to read.
True story (or a confession):
When we moved into our house 14 years ago, I realized I was missing some dishes. I had unpacked all of the moving boxes and couldn’t find them anywhere. I figured they had somehow gotten lost during our crazy move (our house sold quickly and we had to move into a temporary apartment with most of our stuff in storage until we could find another house and move) and chalked it up to a loss.
Fast forward 2 years (2 years!!) and we were working on some storage solutions for our garage. We were installing shelving for my business supplies as a home stager as well as shelves for our seasonal decor. I came across a bin that was labeled “Spring decor” and opened it up. There were my long lost dishes. I’m not sure how it happened, but it did – to a Professional Organizer – me.
“Crazy talk!”, you say?
Ideally (and I know some people will think this is crazy talk), you should touch everything you own at least once a year. Yup, I said it. Once a year. Touching each and every belonging over the course of a year causes you to be aware of what you own.
“Impossible!”, you say?
Well, hear me out.
If you take one room/area of your home each month it is completely doable. Check out my post about 5 rules for an organized home for the schedule I use. You might not realize how tangled up you are with unneeded items you have stored around your home. Just be sure you open every box, cabinet, bag, and drawer. Every. Single. One.
Let me know what surprises you find in your containers. Any amazing finds? I can’t wait to hear about it!
